Taming the Beast: How Hemp and Mycelium Could Replace Floral Foam
About this episode
Rebecca Noble interviews Kristina Bircsak about her innovative plant-based floral mechanic, Natriform, made from hemp and mycelium as a sustainable alternative to floral foam.
What if the answer to floristry's floral foam problem could be grown instead of manufactured? In this episode, Bec sits down with Kristina Bircsak of Miconet Solutions, creator of Natriform — a plant-based floral mechanic grown from hemp and mycelium, developed right here in Australia in collaboration with working florists. Bec and Kristina first met at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, where Kristina's incredible mycelium sculpture was turning heads. But what started as a hobby — growing mycelium fibreboard with her partner to replace single-use plastics — soon became something much bigger. After attending a sustainability workshop at MIFGS, Kristina discovered just how damaging floral foam really is: breaking down into microplastics, harmful to touch and breathe, and quietly embedded in an industry built around nature. Kristina also shares the deeply personal moment behind it all. Seven years ago she survived bowel cancer, and it changed everything — what she cared about, what she wanted to leave behind, and the impact she wanted to make on the world. Natriform is her answer. Together, Bec and Kristina dig into: • What Natriform actually is — mycelium as the…
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